ASSABET RIVER RAIL TRAIL LETTERBOX

Stow Section; Moderate. Flat, hard packed dirt & grave rail trail. Drainage issues; avoid after heavy rains.

To start in Marlborough [Southern Section/Southern End]; From I-495, take exit 63A to Route 20 east. After you pass by the lake on your right, bear left at the traffic light on W Main St (Route 20). When you enter downtown Marlborough, Route 20 veers right, stay straight on Main St. Take your first left onto Rawlins Street. Parking locate here. The trail starts at the junction of Cashman, Lincoln and Highland Streets, so you must bike or hike up Rawlins St to Central St and head right. Turn left on Cashman St and cross Lincoln St to the trailhead. Only 0.2 miles. Another parking lot is located by heading north along Highland St (street next to the trailhead) from Lincoln St, then left on Jefferson St. Parking lot on left. Trail along back side of lot.

To start in Hudson [Southern Section/Northern End]; From I-495, take exit 65A to Route 85C, also called the I-495 connector. This will bring you to Route 85. Turn left or north onto Route 85 (Washington St) and look for where the trail crosses the road. This will be in a retail plaza area. The Route 85 parking lot is on your left, next to the trail. To start from the Hudson end, keep going on Route 85 into Hudson and take a right onto Route 62 (Main St). After you cross over the Assabet River, stay with Route 62 as it turns left and becomes Wilkins St, while Main St continues straight. The Wilkins Street (Route 62) parking lot will be on your left.

To start in Maynard [Northern Section;/Southern End]; From I-495, take exit 65 to Route 117 east for 7.1 miles. Turn right on Winter Street. Parking lot will be on your right just before Maynard's Dept. of Public Works.

To start in Acton [Northern Section/Northern End]; From I-495, take exit 75 to Route 111 south for 3.6 miles. Turn right on Central St and travel 1.7 miles to Route 27. Turn right and cross over the RR tracks. Then turn right on Maple St. Follow past the South Acton MBTA Station to the trail head on your left. Maple Street parking lot located here.

The Assabet River Rail Trail follows the former rail bed of the Marlborough Branch Railroad, which ran from 1850 until 1980. It passed through the communities of Marlborough, Hudson, Stow, Maynard and Acton, where it connected into the former Boston-Fitchburg Railroad, which is still active as the B&M/MBTA Line. Two sections are complete; Marlborough-Hudson and Maynard-Acton with a gap between in Stowe. For more information visit; ASSABET RIVER RAIL TRAIL .

Starting from Marlborough [Southern End]; This section of the paved Assabet River Rail Trail mostly descends until it crosses into Hudson where the trail is relatively flat. A Map Board is located at the beginning of the trail. Mile Markers are painted every 0.5 miles on the pavement.

A Bike Share program is available in Marlborough. Check out; ZAGSTER BIKE SHARE .

The trail heads North and starts out passing through residential & industrial areas, with a few street crossings (signed). After crossing Ash St you'll travel over a small berm with nice wood fencing before coming to Fairbanks Blvd and the entrance to Boston Scientific just shy of a mile. Another Map Board located here. As you pass by an open meadow and bench plaza on your right, you can see the Fort Meadow Reservoir in the distance. The trail is now is less residential and more isolated. Pass by a Spur Trail on your left at 1.4 miles which leads up to Sasseville Way. ZAGSTER BIKE SHARE bikes located here. Cross-light over Fitchburg St. This brings you to another Map Board at 1.7 miles. The trails open as you parallel Crowley Drive while passing by a meadow and soccer field. You then descend into deep woods and travel along another berm with wooden fencing on both sides. A tunnel takes you underneath Route 85C as you cross into Hudson at 2.2 miles where you then enter an area with steep rock outcrops. Keep a lookout for an old Brakeman's Warning pole at 2.6 miles. This consists of a rail in the shape of an upside down L, hanging over the center of the trail. The chains hanging down over the trail would hit the Railroad Brakeman, who was on top of the train and warn him of an upcoming bridge or tunnel. ***See Below for history. Thus, just ahead is a stone abutment for the old Farmers Bridge. However, before you go check out the stone abutment, look to your right, just past the rail pole for a large Oak tree. Follow the stone wall next to it to a large boulder. Look on the left underside of this boulder for a single rock covering the entrance to the Assabet River Rail Trail Letterbox. After checking out the stone abutment, the trail passes underneath some power lines and comes to the Route 85 (Washington St) parking lot at 3.1 miles. A Map Board and shops are located here. An automatic cross-light gets you over Washington St and soon you'll come to the Assabet River High Bridge at 3.5 miles. After crossing over the river, if you look along your right, you'll see the remnants of an old railroad siding with its tracks still in place. Enter downtown Hudson. Cross the five-way intersection over Broad St-Loring St, then Vila Do Porto Blvd, as the trail now travels East through town along the median, with Route 62 (Main St) on your left. Lots of sculptures along this section. You leave the median after crossing Vila Do Porto BLVD and travel alongside Route 62 where you'll pass by a restored "blue" Caboose that has been placed alongside the trail. To your right is ASSABET RIVER BICYCLES . Next, you'll pass by the Main St parking lot on your right at 4.3 miles which is directly across from the Main Street Cemetery. As you cross over the Assabet River next to the Route 62 bridge, look to your left to see another old railroad bridge that crossed the river. That old Boston & Maine Line will eventually cross over the trail further ahead. Just past Whispering Pines will be another automatic cross-light over Route 62 to another map board, where the trail continues through a residential area. You cross over Mackin St to a medium with benches and a sign board, then Cox St and head back into woodland. Shortly you'll see two old stone abutments on either side of the trail. This is where that other rail line crossed over the old Marlborough Branch Railroad. The trail currently ends ahead at 5.2 miles at the Wilkins St (Route 62) parking lot, where you'll find another Map Board.

The next section of trail through Stow is currently undeveloped as of 2023, however, an unpaved section of the trail in Stow travels from Sudbury Road to White Pond Rd. See Below.

Starting from the Sudbury Road parking area in Stow [Southern End]; [Re-zeroing Mileage] Head Northeast past the yellow gate along "Track Road", a hard packed dirt & gravel road.

Note; This section of trail has drainage issues, so avoid using after heavy rains.

The Assabet River Rail Trail travels through deep woods alongside the Assabet River National Wildlife Refugee. Very isolated. After 0.7 miles the trail intersects with an improved road and becomes wider. No drainage issues along this next section.

Note; This road continues left to a small private airfield (CIA-Crow Island Aviators). Continue straight.

After 1 mile, an opening on your right leads to nice views of the Assabet River. The trail then travels alongside the river. You cross White Pond Rd at 1.8 miles as you enter Maynard.

From White Pond Road in Maynard; [Continuing Mileage] Map Board. The wide paved Assabet River Rail Trail continues East into the woods. Granite 0 Mile Marker located here every 0.25 miles. Travel along a causeway over Taylor Brook. Looking left you can see where the river has been dammed (Ben Smith Dam). You'll come to the town of Maynard's DPW on your right followed by the Winter Street parking lot at 2.2 miles. Map Board located here. To your left is Ice House Landing, located on Maynard Conservation land. Information signs tell the history of this site. Picnic tables and a boat launch are located here. Cross-light over Route 117 then head left to rejoin the trail. Map Board. Residential corridor becomes an urban corridor as you turn left on Sudbury St the right along Main St at 2.8 mile. Informational sign here. As you approach Clock Tower Place a cross-light will take you over Main St. Look right to spot the Clock Tower. The trail parallels Railroad St before crossing the Assabet River, then up to and across Summer St at 3.2 miles as the trail heads North. Maplebrook Pocket Park here. Cross Concord St at 3.5 miles. Cross Acton St (informational sign), pass by the 2 1/4 Mile Marker where you cross into Acton. Granite 0 Mile Marker located here every 0.25 miles. Old RR Whistle Marker on your left just before the trail leaves the rail bed to bypass a commercial building alongside Main St. A boardwalk then takes you over a marsh and back to the rail bed. Informational sign. Lots of turtles (some big snappers). Wooded corridor. Pass by a spur trail up to Sylvia St before passing by the Fort Pond Brook Reservoir and crossing a bridge over the brook at 5 miles. The trail again turns off the old rail bed. Old RR track switch located here along with an informational sign. Pass by the Maple Street parking lot (Map Board) before crossing Maple St to the South Acton MBTA Station at 5.3 miles.

***Brakeman
Prior to 1888 when Westinghouse developed a reliable air brake, stopping a train or a rolling car was very primitive. Iron wheels, located atop cars, were connected to a manual braking system by a long metal rod. The brakemen, usually two to a train, would ride on top of the car. On a whistle signal from the engineer, the brakemen, one at the front of the train and one at the rear of the train, would begin turning the iron wheels to engage the brakes. When one car was completed, the brakeman would jump the thirty inches or so to the next car and repeat the operation to apply the brakes on that car. The brakemen would work towards each other until all cars had their brakes applied. In good weather, the brakemen enjoyed riding on top of the cars and viewing the scenery. However, they had to ride up there in all kinds of weather - in rain, sleet, snow and ice, as well as good weather. Jumping from one car to the next at night or in freezing weather could be very dangerous, not to mention the fact that the cars were rocking from side to side. Today, a train brakeman assists the conductor by throwing switches, hooking the train cars together and ensuring the safety of the train, passengers, and freight.